A World of Evil
by Tobias Spiegler
Summary: Three years have passed since the final figth in Sunnydale and the survivors have spread all over the world. But a chain of events will bring three old friends back together to fight evil once more.


Hi everyone. This is one of the two chapters I'm going to be post before I'll be gone for a while. The other one is the update for Dirty Mind and will be posted tomorrow.  
  
Now for this story: This a completely new story is my take on the popular 'post-Chosen' angle. I hope you enjoy it.  
  
*****  
  
Title : A World of Evil  
  
Author : Tobias Spiegler  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing  
  
Summary: Three years have passed since the final figth in Sunnydale and the survivors have spread all over the world. But a chain of events will bring three old friends back together to fight evil once more.  
  
*****  
  
It was probably the worst hurricane Xander Harris had ever experienced. Which wasn't saying much, since he never experienced one before. No, he had other experiences. Master vampire, insane hellgoddesses, incorporeal manifestation of the pure evil. But never a hurricane.  
  
But there were probably better places to have the experience than the deck of a British aircraft carrier he thought as he stood on said deck looking out into the darkness. All in all he was probably holding up pretty well, since he had already seen more than one experienced sailor emptying the contents of his stomach into the open sea.  
  
No, there were probably better places to be right now he thought and pulled the raincoat tighter around his body. The Arc Royal was currently in the South Atlantic and heading in the direction of the Falkland Islands. The continuing riots in Argentina earlier this year and the international crisis the current government was in, forced the British Government to show presence in the area, just to make sure that the Falklands were part of Great Britiain and not an easy target to distract their people from the current crisis. The British government didn't really expect something like that, but still: better safe than sorry.  
  
But it was still quite a way till they, the Arc Royal and its battle group, would arrive at the Falklands. Enough time for him and his team to pull a little covert operation off while they were in the area. He still didn't know where, but that would change pretty soon.  
  
Right now he was waiting for a replacement for Noonan, his radio operator. The poor guy had caught the flu while on board, which put him off the mission list. His replacement was currently underway, with some other crew members that were supposed to come onboard.  
  
Xander shuddered. He stood in front of the bridge tower and watched as the rain poured down on the flight deck. The Captain had already cancelled all flights until the storm was over, except for the helicopter that was supposed to arrive in the next few minutes.  
  
Xander looked briefly up. Two, maybe three hours. Then even the Union Jack would not be able to withstand the forces of nature and would be blown away.  
  
After a few more seconds he could make out the navigation lights of the Seaking helicopter. The pilot slowly approached the carrier, afraid that a big wave might lift the carrier suddenly up and right into his chopper. But everything went smoothly and the helicopter landed about twenty feet from him on the deck. The passenger instantly jumped out of the chopper and hurried past him to the comfortable cover ,which the interior of the ship would provide.  
  
Xander still waited and watched as single soldier slowly walked up to him. The young man stopped in front of him.  
  
"Lieutenant Harris," the soldier said and saluted. "Corporal Henderson, reporting for duty."  
  
Xander smiled slightly at the younger man and mustered him with his one eye. Finally he returned the salute casually. "At ease Corporal," he said and led the soldier through the open hatch. "How was your trip from Ascension?"  
  
"A bit rough," Henderson replied and shook his head, to get some of the water out of his hair. "But the pilot managed to get us down in one piece."  
  
The man nodded at that. "The storm is heading north," he explained and walked down the ladder, leading the other man to the lower decks of the carrier. "So that shouldn't be a problem for the mission."  
  
"Do you already know........," the corporal started, but was almost instantly interrupted by the older man.  
  
"I know nothing," Xander replied with a smile. "That's how this business goes. Don't worry. My briefing starts in a few minutes. I will provide you and the rest of the team with the all necessary information afterwards."  
  
Both men continued their journey in silence. Finally Xander stopped at one deck and walked down the corridor, the Corporal close behind. He stopped in front of a door and looked in both directions, checking if someone was watching them.  
  
When he spotted no one, he lifted his hand and knocked three times on the door. He waited a few seconds, then he repeated the action, but knocked only once. After additional few seconds he knocked again, four times this time. Finally the door was unlocked from the inside. "Hey boss," the black skinned soldier on the other side greeted him with a smile and immediately eyed the Corporal. "Did you bring us something to play with?" "Don't you dare scare the newbie off," Xander told him with a warning glare. "I still remember what you did in Plymouth."  
  
"No need to bring old stories up," the soldier replied and held his hands up in surrender. He walked up to Henderson and held out his hand. "Sergeant William Brimstone."  
  
The Corporal took the other man's hand and shook it. "Corporal Adam Henderson," he replied, but looked a bit confused at Xander.  
  
"Forget the formalities," Xander told him with a smile. "We might be soldiers. But right here, right now we're all friends. Understood?"  
  
"Yes Sir," Henderson replied.  
  
"And stop calling me Sir," Xander told him with a mild glare and turned to the Sergeant. "Will, do me a favour and introduce him to the rest of the team. I have to attend the much anticipated briefing."  
  
"Aye, boss," the soldier replied and lead the corporal inside the room. "Come kid. Meet the gang," he said and closed the door behind the other soldier.  
  
Xander shook his head and walked in the direction of the stairs they had taken earlier. And not for the first time he had to think of the day that had brought him here in the first place.  
  
***** Three years earlier *****  
  
The last two weeks happened in a blur. After Sunnydale's sudden impression of the Grand Canyon, the group sought refuge in LA and the members of the Angel investigations team, only to find Angel in charge of Wolfram and Hart. Luckily, he added silently, since the Wofram and Hart building had the necessary medical support some of the slayers needed so urgently.  
  
Sadly Cordelia also depended on the same support. It took the fang gang quite some time to explain the Scoobies what had happened during the course of last year and why their former classmate was now in a coma.  
  
The next big surprise came only a week later, when Giles summoned them all for a meeting. The activation of all the slayers around the world didn't go unnoticed by the Watcher's Council and they were now asking for their help, in order to deal with this new situation.  
  
Of course not one of them was thrilled by the idea to work with the Council. But everyone knew that it would be impossible for them to find and train all the new slayers on their own. So in the end the decision was made. Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Kennedy, Giles and himself would fly to England while Faith and Wood would stay behind and watch over the remaining slayers until they returned.  
  
And now here he was inside a limousine that was heading to an unknown location for an unknown reason. The only thing he knew was that Giles insisted that he accompanied him for that trip.  
  
"Giles," Xander asked when the car finally left London and pulled on the highway. "Where are we going?"  
  
"I have a very special meeting to attend," Giles said and leaned back in his comfortable seat. "And I want you to go with me."  
  
"Hey, I don't want to sound rude, but why me?" Xander asked confused. "I mean, Buffy is off to the discuss the arrangements for the slayer school in Cleveland. Willow wants to meet her wiccan friend to find the most effective way of locating the new slayers out there. Dawn's all giddy she can go to any university on the Council's money. And me? I really hoped I could do a bit of sightseeing while we're in London. So again, why me?"  
  
"You were the only one available?" Giles asked with straight face, but broke into a grin a second later. "Don't worry, I'll explain it to you in due time. But for the moment I have question for you?"  
  
"What?" Xander asked with snort.  
  
"What do you know about the Council?" Giles repeated his question and looked at Xander, with a serious expression on his face.  
  
Xander lifted and eyebrow. "Apart from being a bunch of old farts that force a girl to fight demons and vampires with weapons that were outdated before even you were born?"  
  
"Apart from that," Giles said with roll of his eyes  
  
"Then I know squat," Xander admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.  
  
"Well, then let me give you a bit of information," the watcher told him. "Basically you can divide the council in two types of watchers. One group is like you described. They force the slayer to fight the forces of darkness alone. You remember Quentin Travers?" Xander nodded at that. "He's the perfect example of that kind of watcher. Those are the conservatives. And there is the second kind of watchers. The ones that care for the slayer. That do everything to ensure her survival."  
  
"Okay," Xander said after he thought over the information he just received. "Basically there are good watchers and bad watchers. I understand that. But what does this has to do with our little trip here?"  
  
"I'll come to that," Giles told him. "The other thing you have to know is, that the Council has gathered quite a fortune over the centuries. Some of England's most wealthy families are part of the council. You can guess that they were not pleased when some watchers demanded that the Council should spend its money rather on fighting the darkness then letting it rot in some unmarked swiss bank accounts."  
  
"What a bunch of idiots," Xander exclaimed with a shake of his head. "You should expect that these people understand that the money is worth shit if the world ends."  
  
"Quite," Giles replied with a snort. "It were only a few watchers at the beginning, but over the last century their numbers grew. Today more than half of all Council members support, what is unofficially called 'the new way'. But something is still standing in their way," Giles told him with a sigh. "Now we come to the third fact you have to know about the Council. The Council's highest body is the High Council. It consists of five watchers. Every major decision is decided by these watchers."  
  
Giles took it as a sign to go on, when no question came from Xander's side. "Now, the first problem is, that three of those watchers are conservatives, the remaining two support the modern way of thinking. The second problem is, that those watchers are not elected, each of them chooses his successor."  
  
"Good old monarchy. Now I know why we kicked your asses back in 1776," Xander said with a laugh. "So you basically had a lot of people that supported your idea, but not the political majority to put it through."  
  
"Exactly," Giles told him with a pleased nod. "And you can pretty much guess that those watchers choose people that share their way of thinking as their successor."  
  
Their conversation came , like the limousine, to a sudden halt. The car had long ago left the highway and taken the country road. And now it stood in front of a large iron gate that led to an even larger mansion. It took the driver a few seconds to announce their arrival, but finally the gate opened and the limousine drove the last hundred feet to the mansion's entrance.  
  
Once they stepped out of the car they were welcomed by a tweed clad man. "Mr. Giles, Mr Harris," the watcher greeted them with a smile. "We have already been waiting for you."  
  
"I'm sorry for that," Giles explained, "but the traffic in London was terrible."  
  
"Of course. If you would please follow me?" the man said and led them inside the mansion. Xander briefly eyed the two guards that stood on either side of the door.  
  
"Giles, not that I'm ungrateful for the little history lesson you gave," Xander said, while the two followed the watcher through near endless corridors. "Still, what am I doing here?"  
  
"The attack on the Council's headquarters did more damage than first expected," Giles told him. "Lord Stanley, one of the three watchers that blocked the reforms, died in the explosion, without leaving any kind of evidence who should take his position. Of course the Council has a plan if something like that happens. In that case every watcher gets a vote in order to elect a watcher who takes this position."  
  
"Now I get it," Xander exclaimed. "More watchers support the new way, so chances are high that this will be reflected in the upcoming election."  
  
"You are partly wrong," Giles told him with a smile. "The election is already over. And the new watcher is supporting the new way."  
  
"Hey, that's great," Xander said, but frowned. "But again, why are we here. If everything's done and good, shouldn't we be celebrating?"  
  
"Patience Xander," Giles said and looked at the end big oak door at the end of the corridor. The door was, like the front entrance, guarded. When the threesome finally reached the doors, the guards stepped forward and opened them.  
  
Giles and Xander followed their guide and found themselves inside a very large room which, much to Xander's surprise, looked mostly like a courtroom. To his left he saw what looked like the judges bench, only that this one was bigger and divided into five seats. The middle seat was raised a bit higher, obviously to show its importance. Only the seat left to the middle one was vacant, the remaining ones were occupied by serious looking watchers.  
  
To his right he could rows of chairs that reached to the end of the room, and ,as far as he could see all, of them were occupied. All in all the room could nearly hold nearly one hundred people.  
  
"Mr. Rupert Giles, member of the High Council, your honour," the watcher in front of them announced and bowed slightly in the direction of the watcher on the middle seat. Xander was getting more confused by every second. Giles stepped forward and walked around the bench and took the vacant seat.  
  
"That sneaky little bastard," Xander whispered under his breath. Xander looked around and finally found an empty chair in the second row. Not wanting to disturb the meeting he silently walked up to the chair and sat down.  
  
"Colonel Parke," the head of the five watchers called out and immediately a man in the uniform of the British army stood up. He walked up to the bench and stopped in front of the five watchers.  
  
"Yes, your honour," the Soldier exclaimed.  
  
"The High Council had a long hard debate over the suggestion that was presented by you," the watcher explained and looked in the crowd behind the Colonel. Finally he sighed. It was clear that he wasn't happy with what he had to do next. "Even if the decision was extremely difficult. The Council will provide you with everything you need to put together a tactical assault team of two hundred men."  
  
"Thank you, your honour," the Colonel returned honestly.  
  
"May god and her majesty's blessing be with you," the watcher announced. Right on that command everyone in the room stood up. Xander followed suit. No one moved until the five watchers left their seats. Then the room exploded in of activity. Two of the five head watcher nearly instantly left the room, followed by a big share of the audience. The remaining watchers walked up to the bench and shook the hands of the other three members of the High Council. Xander could make out quite a few thank you's even at this distance.  
  
He waited ten minutes, until even the last of the watchers left the room. Only he, the Colonel, Giles and the other two head watchers were present. Giles shook the hands of his two colleagues and after that they also left the room. Xander walked up to the watcher and clapped his hand while doing it. "Giles, that was one hell of a show," he told him with a smile. "I though the guy in the middle would get a heart attack."  
  
"Yes," Giles told him with a matching smile. "It was very satisfying to see the look on his face."  
  
Giles left the Bench and walked together with the Colonel up to Xander.  
  
"Xander I want you to meet Colonel Parke," Giles said and motioned for the soldier. "Colonel, this is Alexander Harris."  
  
"The young man I heard so much about," The colonel exclaimed with a wide grin and held his hand out. "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Same here," Xander said and shook the older man's hand.  
  
"Colonel Park will be in charge of the Council's armed forces," Giles explained.  
  
"And if everything goes as planned the first few squads should be combat ready in a few weeks," the colonel added.  
  
"I don't want to sound rude," Xander interrupted. "But don't we now have enough slayers for that kind of job?"  
  
Park looked amused at the young man. "Mr. Harris, of the slayers you fought alongside with, how many slayers made it out of Sunnydale? Twenty? Thirty?"  
  
"Twenty four," Xander admitted sadly.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to bring up painful memories," the Colonel told him. "But, how many of those slayers are properly trained? Or how many of them are even willing to continue to fight, since there are now hundreds, maybe thousands of slayers out there?" he put out, waiting a few seconds to let this piece of information sink it. "Face it, being a slayer is now a lifestyle you take willingly, not something you're forced to do because you're the only one."  
  
"I haven't though about that," Xander admitted. And it was the truth. He didn't really have that much time to think about the all the consequences of Willow's spell.  
  
"But we did," park told him. "And we can't completely rely on the slayer anymore. That was the Council's mistake in the past. One that shouldn't be repeated. The force I'm now commanding is there to help the slayers by taking some weight off their shoulders, not to replace or to compete with them."  
  
"And how do you recruit your troops?" Xander asked interested. "Do you take normal soldiers and teach them how to fight demons and vampires?"  
  
The soldier nodded. "That is one approach. The other one is that we recruit people who are already experienced in the fight against the supernatural and provide them with the necessary military training." The colonel paused for a second. "People like you."  
  
Xander suddenly felt like a deer caught in the headlight. He looked over at Giles, but noticed that the watcher had the same look as the colonel.  
  
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," he finally exclaimed. "What use could a one- eyed ex-carpenter be for that special unit you're putting together, huh? Depth perception is a no go for me. And you actually want me to point a gun at someone?"  
  
"You also have seven years of combat experience and you survived. That's something no one can teach you," the Colonel put out. "Your......handicap is of course a disadvantage, but there are ways to compensate it. I'm sure you'll make a fine officer."  
  
"Officer?" Xander exclaimed, even more shocked this time. "I didn't even attend college.  
  
"And?" Park said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm not bound to the rules of the british or the american army. I can judge a person from the first moment. And I know that you got everything someone needs to lead troops."  
  
Xander looked back at Giles, hoping that the watcher would support him. But the look on his face told him that he agreed with the Colonel.  
  
"Think about it Xander," Giles threw in. "We're offering you a great opportunity here. You told me yourself that you still wanted to contribute to the fight against the darkness, but didn't know how, now that there are suddenly slayers everywhere. Well, this is you chance."  
  
"You," Xander said after a moment and pointed at the two men. "Are completely insane," he stated and turned around. He walked a few feet away from the two men, who in turn, exchanged concerned glances. Finally Xander started laughing. First a silent chuckle, which grew quickly into a full blown laughter. Giles and the Colonel were now exchanging even more concerned looks. Finally Xander stopped and turned around and faced the two men."But then again, I'm no better. I mean fighting vampires with nothing more than a sharp piece of wood doesn't really clasify me a sane," he declared. "I'm in."  
  
"Glad to hear that Mr Harris," Park told him with a smile. "Welcome aboard." 


End file.
